Indianapolis Motor Speedway must submit progress reports on the facelift every 90 days for two years. / Brian Spurlock, USA TODAY Sports

by Jill Disis, USA TODAY Sports

by Jill Disis, USA TODAY Sports

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will launch an overhaul of its facilities to bring them into compliance with federal disability law after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and members of the Indiana disability community.

U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett announced the agreement at a press conference today, which comes after Dan Ward filed a complaint saying he attended a practice session during Indy 500 festivities at the speedway and was denied access to the pit area despite having credentials.

According to the agreement, Ward said security officials told him he couldn't enter the pit because of his wheelchair. Ward also alleged that the speedway did not have sufficient accessible seating.

A Department of Justice investigation later found that the Speedway had more than 360 violations of federal disability law, including insufficient access and seating for disabled individuals in the North Vista and Northeast Vista grandstands, the South Terrace and the Pit Road Terrace.

"For more than a century, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been a treasured symbol for all Hoosiers, and this agreement ensures that it will now be accessible to all Hoosiers," Hogsett said. "I'd like to thank the representatives from both the Speedway and the disability community for their hard work and dedication throughout this process."

IMS is a private, family-owned company headquartered in the city. Jeff Belskus is the president and CEO.

The speedway has agreed to pay Ward and the Department of Justice $35,000 each in settlement money.

Renovations to the speedway will bring it up to 2010 federal law standards, and will take up to 30 months to complete, according to a project completion timetable.

Kevin Forbes, director of engineering for the speedway, said the way the changes came about weren't ideal, but he sees the situation as an opportunity.

"This has been a very humbling experience," he said. "In spite of our efforts, our desires, our wants to do everything right to make our facility accessible, to make it enjoyable, to make it a great experience for our customers and all of our patrons, sometimes we fall short of our expectations, of everybody's expectations."

The Northeast Vista Grandstand alone will be altered to include an additional 190 wheelchair spaces and 190 companion seats.

In addition, the speedway has agreed to develop and provide new training procedures to its staff members. It will also develop a written policy that specifically permits individuals with disabilities who hold proper credentials for entry into the pit or garage areas.

The terms of the settlement also permit the Department of Justice to inspect any area of the speedway upon reasonable notice.

The speedway will also need to submit progress reports on its renovations every 90 days to the U.S. Attorney for two years, and every six months after that. The speedway also agreed that all future changes will meet ADA standards.

Jill Disis writes for the Indianapolis Star, a Gannett property. Follow her on Twitter @jdisis